As the auto industry converged on Detroit for the kickoff of the North American International Auto Show this week, Google not only made clear its plan to develop fully self-driving vehicles—sans steering wheels and pedals—for testing purposes, but it also gave the clearest indication yet of its end goals with the technology.

"We're definitely not in the business of making cars—just to be 100 percent clear," Chris Urmson, the director of Google's self-driving car project, said at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit on Wednesday. He added that Google is, however, "very excited to push the technology forward."

Google has done this ever since it first revealed its self-driving car project almost five years ago—and helped goad automakers into developing similar technology. According to Urmson, Google wants to work with the auto industry to get robo-cars on the road.

"At some point, we're going to be looking to find partners to build complete vehicles, and bring the technology to market," Urmsom said. A GM executive also said this week that the U.S. automaker would "certainly be open to having a discussion with" Google on partnering to build self-driving cars.

But for now, Google is working with such recognizable names as Bosch, Continental, LG Electronics, Nvidia, and Roush to get 100 prototype vehicles built in order to start testing the technology on public roads.

"It takes a lot of parts to build a car—especially a fully autonomous one," Urmson said in a statement. "To build our prototype, we worked with experienced automotive partners from around the world, and we couldn't have come as far as we have without them."

"It's been a few years that we've been working with Google," Samir Salman, CEO of Continental's North American unit, told me shortly after Urmson's announcements. "We're working with Google to provide our services and knowledge on the technical side in components and in systems," he added. "We're supplying brake systems, tires, and body controller and interior electronics."

Not Having Humans InvolvedWhile Google has been cagey about its self-driving endgame, the company has always been clear about its objectives for the technology. And unlike most major carmakers, one of these is to not have human drivers involved.

"We have always had fully autonomous operation as our end goal for the Google self-driving car project," the company said in a statement, "because we believe this could significantly improve road safety and help people who are blind, disabled, or otherwise can't drive."

And while the concept that it debuted last May was derided by some as pie-in-the-sky due to its lack of a steering wheel and pedals, Google isn't backing away from this strictly driverless vision.

"Our goal is that you press a button and they'll take you where you need to go," Google added. Its test cars won't "have a steering wheel, brake pedal, or accelerator pedal because they don't need them; our software and sensors do all the work, although Urmson added that such human-less testing will take place on closed courses, since California regulations require physical controls to be in place and a test driver behind the wheel on public roads.

As Google advances into the dashboard with Android Auto, it's becoming clear that the company intends to work with traditional car companies and suppliers rather than supplant them. But it will do so on its own terms, which could cause delays in its goal either to extract data from connected cars or erase the driver from the equation.

And despite the view of skeptics and protests from hardcore car enthusiasts, it's also becoming clear that self-driving cars will someday become the norm. Even if Google's collaboration with the auto industry is as just another supplier, the company will continue to push the technology forward. And it will be doing almost everyone who needs to get around efficiently and safely a huge service—no matter the name of the car.

About the Author

Doug Newcomb is a recognized expert on the subject of car technology within the auto industry and among the automotive and general media, and a frequent speaker at automotive and consumer electronics industry events. Doug began his career in 1988 at the car stereo trade publication Mobile Electronics, before serving as editor of the leading consume... See Full Bio

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